The Lakers went on to face the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals. The two teams combined to win seven of the last nine NBA Championships. The Lakers were able to overcome a 20-point deficit in game 1 and
win behind Kobe Bryant's 27 points, with 25 being scored in the second half. Game 2 was a cruise for the Lakers as they made a 9–0 run before halftime and built the lead to 30. For the third straight series the Lakers started off 2–0. This also marked Ariza playing for the first time since breaking a bone in his right foot in January.
[16] The Spurs easily took game 3 in San Antonio with
Manu Ginóbilicarrying the Spurs after two terrible games in L.A. The Lakers barely escaped Game 4 with a narrow win after Brent Barry missed a last second three-pointer due to a "missed foul call" on Derek Fisher, even though Bryant,
Gregg Popovich, and Phil Jackson all agreed that it was not a foul. The NBA head office, however, admitted the next day that a foul should have been called, which would have given one of the league's top free throw shooters a chance to tie the game. Heading home up 3–1 in the series, the Lakers trailed in the first quarter by 17 but were able to cut the lead to six by halftime.
Again, Bryant stepped up by scoring 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and the Lakers surged ahead to take a 100–92 victory behind their home crowd for a chance to win championship no. 15.
They also improved to 4–0 against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.